Dissociative Identity Disorder
by Serpent Tailed Angel
Summary: Link finally lands a fatal blow on Vaati, but the Minish manages to transfer his very soul into Link before he can actually die. Now the hero must deal with the sorcerer causing havock in his body whenever he can.
1. Chapter 1

"Talk"

/Mental talk/

**Chapter 1**

_You always were a fool Vaati…_

No

_I told you, raw power will get you nowhere…_

Shut up

_Now look at you. You're dying and all you can do is argue with a figment of your imagination. Something pieced together by memories of your old master._

Go away. Leave me alone.

_Such a pity. You had so much potential._

I'm not going to die… I'm not… going…

XXXXX

Link laughed. Zelda grabbed a chalice filled with water and splashed it over him "Stop it! The dancer just stumbled. Don't make her feel bad, this is supposed to be a celebration for her too"

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just really happy." Link grinned sheepishly "Vaati's finally going to die. No more generations of royal family members and legendary heroes having to seal him away over and over. He'll just be gone"

Zelda nodded "The thought of never again having to check that seal makes me happy too, but try to behave yourself and-" she leaned closer and said quietly "go check on him."

Link frown and nodded. The Foursword had been broken during the battle with Vaati, and the way to repair it had been long forgotten. This seemed like a huge problem, but Vaati had received a mortal wound by this time and conveniently knew no healing magic. Link and Zelda had hidden him in the courtyard while he slowly faded away, since their means of ending it quickly had been destroyed. Everyone else thought he was already dead.

He gasped upon seeing the body. What was once a large black bat-like creature was now a pale Hylian boy. Link reached out and gently touched the boy's cheek. Red eye's snapped open and narrowed at Link "You-" the boy coughed, spitting out blood as he did so "You're not… I'm won't… die… yet…" the boy hissed.

Link scowled "Well, you aren't going to live much longer" he told Vaati, watching them mage roll over and vomit up a dangerously large amount of blood "It's over Vaati, you lose"

Vaati growled and reached out with the last of his strength grabbed Link and began to cast a spell. Frightened by this, Link stepped back. Vaati fell over and stopped breathing.

Link took a few deep breaths and checked to make sure there was no blood on his tunic before going back inside.

"There you are" Zelda smiled at Link "You took a little longer than expected"

"I had a very brief conversation with him. He's dead, by the way"

"What's wrong?" Zelda frown "You look a little…"

"Vaati changed forms again" Link said "I don't know, maybe it was just to shake me before he passed on, maybe it was his original one and he couldn't maintain the one he was in when I fought him anymore. He looked… he looked **human** Zelda, I killed someone who was born human"

"And turned into a demon" Zelda pointed out "If Vaati was ever human or something similar he hasn't been that for a long time"

"Yeah… I guess"

"Now sit and eat. This celebration is in honor of **your** victory. Enjoy it"

Link smiled and nodded, taking a seat next to Zelda and waiting for the food to come. "He tried to cast a spell" Link added "But he died before he could finish it I think. I mean, nothing happened so…"

"Good, I'd hate for him to place some lasting curse or something" Zelda said before picking her food off a tray held by a passing servant.

OXXXXXO

**Rune Caster**: Keep reading. It gets better, I promise. And Vaati fangirls, which is 99. percent of my readers (don't ask what the . is) DON'T KILL ME CUZZ VAATI'S STILL IN THE STORY!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Link watched from the balcony as Vaati's body was burned. No one thought he deserved a traditional burial, and since spreading his ashes in the winds somehow didn't seem like a punishment they'd be scattered across the ocean.

/It's not that bad/ Vaati's voice rang through Link's head /having my ashes in the ocean sounds kind of cool, actually/

Link blinked and looked around "Zelda, did you here something?"

"Like?"

"Like Vaati! I thought I heard him just now!"

"You must have imagined it"

/Yeah, Link, it's just your imagination/ Vaati's voice echoes through his head before laughing.

"He's still here, I'm sure of it" Link drew his sword.

/I wouldn't do that, people will think your losing it/ the voice said mockingly.

"Zelda, go check to make sure that's the real Vaati being burnt. He might have used some spell to make it only seem like he died"

Zelda shrugged and left. Link had dealt with Vaati more anyway. He'd know better.

"Show yourself!" Link called out.

/Show myself? I have nothing to show/ Vaati hummed /You destroyed my body, and you saw it enough that as a spirit I would look no different/

"A spirit?"

Link blacked out.

XXXXX

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Link sat up, putting a hand on his throbbing head "What happened?"

"I don't know. You came down the hall saying… something… I couldn't quite here you. I called out to you but you passed out and…" Zelda shifted uncomfortably "Maybe you should see a doctor"

"Yeah, maybe…"

/Don't bother. No amount of medicine is going to 'cure' you/ Vaati snickered.

"Zelda I…"

"Hold on" Zelda hit him, only she didn't. Link wasn't sure how to describe it but it sure felt like being hit. "Link, something's wrong with you"

"What?"

"I don't know, but it's not natural. I thought I sensed something when you came back in from being with Vaati but I wasn't sure until you started acting weird. I've never seen anything like what's in you. I mean, it's like some sort of a magic presence, and I've felt that presence before, but yours wouldn't just change randomly. It's like you gained a new one"

/Perceptive girl/

"Zelda, I need some time alone. Where's my room?"

"Down the hall. Third door on the l-"

"Thanks" Link got up and hurried inside, shutting and locking the door before looking around "Where are you?"

/Boo/

Link yelped. Vaati had appeared before him. He looked no where near as material as he had earlier that evening, though. Link cautiously lifted a hand and tried to touch the mage. His hand went right through.

"Wh-what's going on? You're dead. You're supposed to be dead. Wh-why can't I feel you? Even ghosts have feel"

/Psh. As if I'd lower myself to becoming a dumb ghost/ Vaati scoffed /Honestly, boy, I have more dignity than that. I'm-/ he cut off as someone knocked on the door /Answer it and act normal/ he ordered.

Link got up, feeling a little shaky and opened the door. The king stood there with a look of fake concern on his face "Zelda tells me you're feeling unwell"

"J-just a little" Vaati walked right through Link and waved to the king, who didn't seem to notice "I'll… I'll be fine after a nights rest" Link's voice was getting weaker "Good… night… your highness" he shut the door. Vaati passed through it to return to the room.

/You know, being a spirit is actually a little fun. He didn't see me at all/

"Shut up. How are you doing this and why? Why couldn't he see you?"

/I told you, I'm a spirit now. No one can see me but you, Link/ Vaati grinned, and realized something creepy. Though Vaati's mouth moved when he talked, no sound came from the image, it was still coming from inside his head /This is what you get for being foolish and paying me a visit as I passed away. You see, I feel I'm not very willing to go to the afterlife yet, but I need a body in order to avoid such a place. With mine gone, I've taken up residence in yours. I hope it's a bit of a bother/ Vaati smirked /Oh and, if you don't mind-or if you do-I'll need to take control from time to time. Now be a good boy and-/

Link blacked out.

OXXXXXO

**Rune Caster:** Well?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When Link woke up he found himself in his bed. It seemed Vaati had at least done that. He's also somehow earned Link a horrible gash in his arm. What if he'd gone to war with the rest of Hyrule?

/Oh, quit panicking. It's hard to sleep when you do it/ and annoyed and somewhat groggy voice called out /It's just from some dumb monster/

"Oh"

/And stop talking out loud too. It makes my head hurt/ Vaati added.

"You don't have a head" Link grumbled. He felt a jolt of electricity run through him.

/I do to. And I still have magic also, so don't get me to mad/

"Or what, you'll destroy the body that's keeping you tied to this world?" Link asked out loud.

There was a pause before Vaati spoke up again /No, but I could certainly ruin your reputation as the great hero. Assuming you don't do it first. What will people think when they see you talking to yourself?/ Link sighed. He was right. /And while I'm at it, how will they react if they find out I'm inside you. There's no spell that can force a spirit out of a body without killing the person. People won't see you as a hero, they'll see you as me/ He could feel Vaati smirking /No, you'd best keep quite about this. I don't even need to force you with magic/

"I hate you"

/What was that?/

Link took a deep breath and replied the same way Vaati had been speaking to him /I hate you/

/Well good for you, now let me sleep/

/Why do you need sleep? You're dead/

/No. I'm a spirit, and even those need rest when they use too much energy. Now shut it/

Despite Link's attempts, he couldn't get Vaati to respond again. He gave up after a minute and got out of bed, choosing to walk around the room and try to figure out what to do about this new development. Vaati had shown that he could take over whenever he wanted, meaning it wasn't a good idea to just ignore this problem, however telling someone could get him into a lot of trouble.

Then again, he'd get into that trouble and more if Vaati became too active. Link settled for telling Zelda and seeing what happened from that point.

XXXXX

"He **what**?" Maybe telling Zelda wasn't a good idea "Link, this is really bad. There's no known spell that could force him out of you, and he's using his magic to make himself the dominant soul in your body, even if he's not the proper one."

"Yeah, what of that I didn't figure out he already told me"

"What do we do? It wouldn't be fair to lock you up, but we can't let Vaati run amok in your body" she paused "can he here me?"

"I think he's asleep" When the response got him an odd look Link just shrugged.

"Okay, this is a problem. A huge problem" Zelda began to pace back and forth around the room "We don't have much time to act before he 'wakes up' and there isn't much he could do. Do you know how long he possessed you?"

"But it couldn't have been more than about ten hours" Link paused "And he said something about needing sleep because he used so much energy"

"So he still has a limit even with no physical body… that's good… wait right there" Zelda cast a spell that bound Link to her bed-something the hero wasn't pleased with-and went to check on who knows what.

That's when Vaati woke up. Already Link was beginning to feel those sorts of things. Vaati's emotions seemed to spill over slightly, along with his level of awareness, which had just gone from zero to one-hundred percent. /What's going on?/ the mage demanded. Link felt himself struggling against the bindings against his own will /What did you do, boy?/

/Stop struggling. You're going to give me rope burn or something/ Link complained.

Vaati growled before allowing Link control of his body again /Once I have my own body again I'll destroy yours for this/ he warned.

Zelda came back in "Is he still asleep?"

"No. He's awake and-"

/You told her?!/ Link flinched. Vaati didn't have to be so loud…

"…and giving me a headache"

"Here, hold your hand out" Link held his hand out the best he could while tied up. Zelda slipped a plain black ring on before dispelling the bindings. When Vaati took control he didn't even bother to block Link out. He just sat up and tried to pull the ring off before growling slightly and allowing Link control again.

"What is it?" Link asked, trying to ignore the fact he'd just bee possessed.

"I don't know what it's called, but it's got a really powerful curse on it" Zelda said "That won't stop Vaati from possessing you, but it will drain his energy at a much faster rate. He won't be able to take control for long and when he does he'll only be able to cast one, maybe two spells at best. Vaati can't remove it either. Only someone who isn't wearing it can take it off." Zelda smiled "This way we can let you go around like normal and not have to worry about affecting your reputation or locking you up"

Link grimaced "Talk louder. I can hardly here you over _him_" Vaati had begun to scream various obscenities in Minish and Hylian.

Zelda shook her head and left, a little uncomfortable with the idea of being near someone who shared a body with Vaati, even if it was her childhood friend. In the mean time, Link blacked out.

XXXXX

When Link came to this time he was only a little further down the hall from Zelda's room. He looked around before hurrying into his and locking the door behind him "Vaati?"

/What?/ Vaati snapped, appearing in front of Link in his translucent from and looking rather cross.

"How… um…" He reached out and tried to feel the spirit, his hand went right through, but the ring on it sparked. Vaati cringed.

/D-don't do that!/ he hissed, backing away /god dammed… why does Zelda even have something as random as that anyway?/ he sat down and took a deep breath. Link took notice of how exhausted he suddenly looked.

"Aw, come on, Vaati" a devilish grin had appeared on Link's face "We're sharing a body now. Don't be mad" he reached out again and stuck the same hand through Vaati a second time.

The spirit shrieked and backed away again, this time looking like he hadn't slept for several days. /Get that accursed thing away from me!/ he yelled.

"Naw, I wanna hug you" Link said in a falsely sweet voice. Vaati disappeared. "Try to come out to bug me again and I'll make you miserable" Link called out before looking around for some way to distract him from his new problem.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Link yawned. He wasn't tired, yawning happened to be contagious, and someone who was tired happened to be yawning at least once a minute in the back of his head /Stop that/

/I can't help it/ Vaati snapped before yawning again /That stupid ring exhausts me/

/Then sleep/

/And risk missing something important? Maybe you getting a bracelet that makes it so I can't even think? Not a chance/

Link fiddled with the ring on his finger. While it had given him two weeks of possession free time since Vaati first appeared in his mind, it had caused the annoyance of having the weary and debatably dead sorcerer constantly complaining and being an overall distraction. /You only had your energy drained once. How can you still be tired after two weeks?/

/Let me put it this way. If I use up, say, a tenth of my strength, it takes an hour to recover. A fifth or my strength requires four hours. Three tenths and I need nine hours. All of it and I need one hundred hours to get it all back/

/It's been more than a hundred hours/

/That was just an example. Without a body of my own, just sharing one with you, I can't recover energy nearly as fast as I ought to be able to/ Vaati yawned again /Now stop making me explain things. It makes me sleepy/

"Everything makes you sleepy" Link muttered.

"Did you say something?" Zelda asked. Link shook his head "Oh. Okay" She looked back down at her notes, walking by and giving orders to various soldiers.

/How come you never get any work?/ Vaati asked, appearing outside of Link and making a snail pace walk toward Zelda to see what all she had written down.

/I **used** to get the most work. Now she's worried you might mess something up/

/That's a shame/ Vaati disappeared /Hey, what time…/ he yawned /is…/ Vaati fell asleep. Link suppressed a chuckle.

Once everyone was gone Zelda approached him "Has Vaati been a problem?"

Link shook his head "The most he does is talk to much. Your ring made him to tired to cause any real trouble"

"Good" Zelda murmered before hurrying away.

/She doesn't trust me/ Link felt Vaati stirring /It's all your fault, too/

/What?/ Vaati yawned /How long was I asleep?/

/Not long enough/ Link sighed.

XXXXX

To Link Vaati may have been a somewhat insubstantial being, but to an extent Vaati still required all the things he had while alive. The speed at which he recovered energy was somewhat dependant on how much Link ate, as well as how often he slept. And he actually slept to, the same way a normal person would. Bed and all.

Link, who had never experienced living without a body to call his own, had no idea how complex a soul was, and the space in the body where the soul resided. Vaati wasn't actually sure where this was, though he assumed it was somewhere in the brain. However, there was a certain spot in the body where the soul resided. Normally, this just looked like an unoccupied room, as the soul was usually governing the body. In the extraordinary case of Link and Vaati, only one soul could govern the body at a time, so the "Soul Room" was always occupied. Vaati had rearranged this room to his liking. Out of a strange act of kindness, he had left Link's bed untouched, but the rest of the room was designed to match his taste; hosting decorations of dark and ominous colors and patterns.

Vaati paced around this room, sat down on his bed for a bit, yawned and stretched a little, took a quick nap, then paced some more. Occasionally, he glanced out a window from which he could see whatever Link was seeing.

Vaati liked being in the soul room. He'd originally figured it to be a place to recover in quickly after using more energy than he'd planned, but with Link wearing the ring he saw it as more of a safe zone. The soul room was the only place he could stay without his energy being drained.

Link would pay dearly for letting Zelda put the ring on him, not any time soon though. Vaati needed to gather up enough strength to be able to transfer himself to yet another body, and an acceptable host had to be present and, preferably, in contact with Link at the time. Vaati had only really picked Link in the first place because no one else was around.

/Link?/ He called out, finally growing bored with pacing.

/What now?/ Came an irritable reply

/What time is it?/

/You already asked that/

/I fell asleep/ Vaati replied /Now tell me the time/

/Why do you even care?/

Vaati debated being honest or not before figuring out Link couldn't do anything either way /I'm trying to figure out how much longer until all my energy is back/

/Go to sleep, Vaati/

OXXXXXO

**Rune Caster**: Tch. Soul Rooms… you can tell I'm a Yu-Gi-Oh fan.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Glad to see you back among our ranks, Link. I was beginning to think your vacation would never end"

Link blinked "Vacation?"

"Well, we assumed you were having one since you went a couple months without work." The soldier replied "I mean… it's good to have you back. The more skilled men hunting down monsters the better"

Link nodded. He was about to open his mouth to reply when… /HEY!/ Link flinched, surprised by the shout.

He then chuckled sheepishly and said "Excuse me, I'll be right back" before running and hiding behind some shrubs /What?!/ he snapped mentally.

/What the heck are you doing?/ Vaati demanded /I don't want to go on some dumb monster raid!/

/Yeah well, they're needed. Thanks to somebody summoning a bunch of bread-like-bunny monsters, then possessing the person who kept the monster population in check, they're going to over run Hyrule soon/

/Good, let them/ Vaati pouted, obviously displeased by the fact the body he resided in was going to destroy his monsters.

Link sighed /You don't sound very tired/

/I don't feel very tired. It's about time too, I thought my energy might never come back/ For a second Link felt slightly detached from the world. His head turned left and right against his will /Where are we? This doesn't look like any part of Hyrule I've ever seen/ He was given control over his body again. It seemed Vaati wasn't going to spend too much time in control until the ring was off.

/One country can change a lot in a couple hundred years, Vaati/ Link pointed out /Now be quiet. A distraction at the wrong moment will get us **both** killed./

Vaati gave a sort of mental sniff before actually falling silent.

Silent.

Link followed everyone out to the area the monster sightings had been reported at.

Silent.

Link charged head first into the army of moblins.

Silent.

Link was locked in combat with their ring leader

/**HEY!**/

Link lost all focus, dropped his sword, and got knocked unconscious.

XXXXX

Zelda hurried to open her door when she heard knocking. Link stood on the other side with a bandage wrapped around his head "You have anything like a bracelet that'll keep _him_ from even being able to think?"

If he'd had his own body, Vaati would have been rolling on the ground with laughter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Link had spoken with Zelda and there was some consideration for removing him from the monster hunts now. The issue with that being that it would make everyone suspicious. Stupid Vaati.

Link wasn't worrying about this too much right then, though. After recovering with unnatural speed from his head injury he was just trying to get a good nights rest.

Key word: trying.

It was probably midnight when something woke him up. It wasn't any sort of noise, not even from Vaati. It was more like this really intense unease that had suddenly come over him, though he couldn't imagine why. After pacing back and forth in his room for a few minutes he realized that it was actually Vaati's feelings leaking over into him.

"Vaati? What's wrong?"

/You're awake?/

"I thought you could tell"

/I feel really disoriented… Right now I probably couldn't tell red from green. How dare you expect me to keep track of what you're up to as well/

"I didn't say I expected you too. I just thought you could sense that sort of thing."

/Something's jamming all of my senses. This overwhelming pressure…/ Link shuddered. It was still just Vaati's feelings leaking into him that made him do this though. It was actually a little frightening as it meant that either whatever barrier kept them as two separate people was very weak, or that something had **really** upset the sorcerer /I don't feel safe at all…/

"If…" Link swallowed and figured it couldn't hurt to help just this once. The mage sounded sincere "You can come out if you'd like. I won't use the ring on you…"

/NO!!!/ Vaati screamed /Something's here! I'm not coming out! It could see me! I know it could!!!/ Link started shivering, still the affects of Vaati /I don't… I can't… no… why do I feel so sick…?/

"Link?" Zelda's voice came from outside Link's door "Link, are you awake?"

Link opened the door "You should get back to your room, Zelda, its late"

"You're shivering" Zelda told him. She wore a slightly unsettled expression.

"I'm fine. Vaati's freaking out about something"

Zelda looked around "Can I come in with you?"

"No you should go"

"Link, please" Zelda gave her best puppy dog eyes, but Link resisted.

/If she wants in, let her. Just shut the door!/ Vaati ordered. His voice was several octaves high than normal from panic.

"Fine. Fine" Link put a hand on his head in a useless attempt to shut Vaati out "come in"

Zelda entered with unusual speed. Link shut the door behind her so that Vaati would stop bugging him about it. "Ah… this may sound unusual but, may I speak to Vaati first?"

"What?"

"Just… tell me everything he says. I was planning on ignoring him but, you said he's 'freaking out about something', right?"

"Yeah"

"Let me speak to him"

"Alright. I can't **make** him talk though. Keep that in mind. He might not want to say anything"

"Okay" Zelda took a deep breath then forced on a more confident looking face "Vaati… do you… sense a weird presence within the castle?"

/…tell her "yes"/

"Yes"

"Can you tell where it's coming from?"

/ Tell her "It's to overpowering. It feels like its coming from everywhere at once"/

"He says it's to overpowering. It feels like it's coming from everywhere at once"

"I was afraid of that. I have a light affinity, so even though I can sense dark magic like this, I can only tell it's there. I thought maybe you'd have a better idea"

/My affinity is wind. Not whatever this is/

"He says he doesn't have whatever affinity of magic it is you two are picking up on"

"How can he sense things with wind?"

/That's not your concern/

"He won't say"

Zelda scowled "Could he use magic to find what's causing this? Maybe if he came out in spirit form like you say he has before he-"

/**NO**!!!/ Link doubled over and covered his ears. Zelda stopped speaking immediately and went to Link's side

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" Link took a deep breath /Calm down, idiot/ he hissed mentally.

"Did he do something weird to you?"

"No. He just freaked out. I think he's afraid of exposing himself to this whatever it is"

/Something **wrong** about it/ Vaati said. Link's shivering intensified /I can't… I feel bad enough with your piece of the triforce blocking out most of this thing's aura. If I forsake that protection and leave your body for even a second… I might…/ He fell completely silent. Link's shivering stopped.

"Link?"

"I think he… he…" Link scowled and shut his eyes, trying to sense Vaati "it feels like he passed out. Weird…"

"If Vaati's affinity is wind, their must be some other reason he can sense this darkness." Zelda looked around "And for **him** to be frightened he must have a pretty keen sense too."

"Maybe…"

Zelda looked around "Well, you probably got the gist of what's going on. Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Yeah. Sure."

XXXXX

/…Link?/

…

/Link?.........LINK!!!/

Link woke up partially and looked around. He was on the rug in the center of his room, since Zelda had taken his bed, and it was about four in the morning. Vaati's fear was now so overwhelming that Link was just about ready to pee his pants. "…what is…it?" he was half asleep.

/Get out of here! NOW!/

"but Zelda…"

Suddenly Link's motions weren't his own anymore. Vaati took control of his body and bolted out of the room, down the hall, and out of the castle.

/VAATI! STOP THIS! I'M GONNA KILL YOU! GIVE ME BACK MY BODY!!!/ Link was definitely wide awake now.

"I can't stand being there any longer!" Vaati summoned a few winds to help him leap over the castle wall and land safely on the other side. He was panting heavily because of the ring, but he still didn't relinquish control until he'd put a pretty impressive distance between him and the castle town.

In fact, he technically still didn't allow Link control again. Link was just forced back in control when Vaati's strength finally gave out and he passed out.

Link waited for a minute while his body readjusted to having him in control. There was a tingling feeling left behind from Vaati using magic, but he wasn't too concerned with that.

"Vaati? Wake up you idiot!" No response.

Link swore and started back toward the castle. Suddenly things became dark. Not four in the morning dark. Eerie dark.

When what light had been present before then returned, the castle was gone.

OXXXXXO

Plot has emerged.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Vaati? Vaati, wake up dammit!" Link yelled /VAATI!!!/

/…Li…nk?/ Vaati's voice was really faint /leave…al..one…too…ti…red…/

Adding to his already fairly impressive swear count for that morning, Link looked around in the hopes of some sort of clue. None was presented, though. Sighing, Link let loose one more string of swear words directed to the barely conscious mage and trudged back to the town.

/…bad…/

"What?"

/feels bad…/ Vaati muttered

Link took a deep breath and tried to communicate mentally in the hopes of a better response. Besides, with people coming out of their houses now to look at the crater where the castle had been, he didn't want to be seen talking to himself /What feels bad Vaati?/

/the…energy…/ Vaati blacked out for a second, but recovered enough to continue /still here… feels bad…/

Finally giving up on getting the mage to talk while he clearly bushed, Link started talking to various townspeople.

"Excuse me, miss? Did you see what happened?"

The woman he'd caught the attention of shook her head "Everything in my room went pitch black. When the lights came back on I came outside to see if maybe the guards were going to explain everything to us, but the only guards who didn't vanish seem just as clueless as all of us"

"Well, thanks anyways" He started to walk away, then looked back "Can you tell me where these guards are?"

"They've gone to inspect the crater"

"Alright" Link hurried over to the crater where, sure enough, a handful of guards had gathered.

"Hey!" The guard he'd spoken to that morning had spotted him. He waved "You're still with us! Great! Come down here!"

Link stepped cautiously into the crater. As he lifted his other foot to place it in as well he slipped and tumbled the rest of the way down. Inside Link's head, Vaati groaned, seeming to have been at least as rattled by the fall.

"You alright? I'm Frank, remember me?"

"Ow… yeah…" Link sat up and rubbed his head. He was bleeding.

"You alright?"

"Don't worry. I have an incredible talent for recovering quickly. Got any clue what happened?"

"No" Frank sighed "I was put on night duty in the village. Actually, I kind of fell asleep for a moment and, well, the castle was gone when I woke up" He gave a sort of sheepish grin "You were in the castle, weren't you?"

"If I was I wouldn't be here. I… I had to go get something from outside of town. Really urgent. The castle vanished while I was out"

"There's a stroke of luck if there ever was one. Whatever it was that made you leave, it saved your hide"

"Y…yeah" He hadn't thought of it that way. He'd have to thank Vaati once he was awake enough to actually focus long enough. Maybe not awake enough to gloat about it, though.

"We'll investigate here. You should do something about the monsters. With most of us gone we'll have to rely on you to keep them from getting too plentiful.

"Right" Link tried to climb out of the crater. It took three tries and two more head injuries to get up. The remaining ten or so guards were all very amused by this.

"Good luck!" Frank called as Link left.

XXXXX

/Why are you…/ yawn /fighting monsters?/

"I have to keep the population in check. Most of the guards are gone"

Vaati left Link's body for a second and looked in the direction of the castle /Oh/

"Yeah. Oh" Link said bitterly "Took you long enough to get your senses back, by the way"

/I didn't know I could get that tired/

"You should have just given me my body back once you cleared the wall"

/I wasn't thinking. I was just trying to get away. Besides, you would have gone right back in/ Vaati yawned again.

"Yeah. Thanks"

The confusion that slammed Link's conscious a second and a half later (presumably the amount of time it took Vaati to process what Link said) almost outdid the fear from several weeks ago when the castle had vanished /for **what**/

"For getting me out of the castle, and keeping me from getting back before it vanished. You saved me from who knows what"

/…I wasn't trying to/ Vaati grumbled. He'd kill himself (somehow) if Link decided that he cared about him.

"Thanks anyway"

/You must really like your voice. Do you always have to talk out loud?/

"I remember you saying something to indicate you don't like it"

/You're a sadist?/ There was a hint of shock in Vaati's 'voice'.

"No. This is just punishment for not dying when it was your time and for making me have to share my body with you"

/So you're vengeful/ Vaati concluded

"No I-"

/It's alright. Plenty of murderers are. That or crazy/

Link knew who he wanted to murder right then. "I'm not vengeful **or** crazy"

/Which is why you wrecked my body and intentionally do things you know I don't like/ Irritation was now flowing out from Vaati.

"Why don't you just find a different host then!?" Link snapped

/I tried. When you were on that dumb monster hunt right before the castle vanished I wasted a bit of magic trying to transfer myself to a different solider. That ring is keeping me in/

"So if I take it of…"

/I'll suppress you until I become the completely dominate spirit in this body so that you'll be the one stuck being a voice in the back of someone's head instead./ Vaati told him.

"I'll still-"

/Then I'll slowly crush your spirit until you can't even be that. You'll just be something insignificant in the back of my head/

"Okay. Ring stays on"

**/**Smart boy/


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

In spite of actually, for reasons unknown even to him. warning Link not to remove the ring. A month later Vaati found Link's lack of change to schedule growing boring. So as Link sat down leaning against the back of a barn at Lon Lon Ranch, Vaati made himself visible to the hero and sat next to him.

/You've been doing nothing for age/

/I've been doing something/ At first Vaati was actually a little surprised, since Link rarely responded mentally, but quickly realized that it was because Malon was right there, and with Zelda gone Link was more concerned than normal over what the cute read head thought of him. /Keeping the monster population in check is incredibly important/

/No. I mean you've done **nothing**. A castle vanished, Link. A whole freaking castle. With your girlfriend in it. Why the heck have you done nothing to locate her?/

/What?/

Vaati got up and glared at Link with his hands on his hips /Come on! When I kidnapped that little girl you went spastic. You chased me down in a day. Somebody took the whole castle, Zelda, your king, and a bunch of people you work with, and your acting like you don't care! Go look for her!/

/But… there's so few guards left… and they can't handle the monsters. Besides, they said they'd investigate/

Vaati sighed /You leave me no choice/

He vanished. A second later Link stood up against his will and held his hand out to Malon "Could you help me with something?" Vaati asked, though it was Link's voice.

Malon smiled "Anything" she said, because she was well aware of the fact that Zelda was gone and trying to use the opportunity to win Link

"I've had this ring stuck on my finger for a while and it's really starting to bother me. I can't get it off though. Could you try?"

"But you're so strong. How could I do it if you can't? And I wouldn't want to hurt you"

"Please?" Vaati smiled. One reason Ezlo had never suspected his betrayal was because he had master acting sweet as a young child. It was a survival tactic. It got him his way. It worked on almost everyone. And it worked on Malon.

She reached out and wrapped her hand around the ring before giving it a good tug. It slipped right off. In doing what she believed was a small favor that would get Link to come back again the next day, she had sealed her fate as no longer a possible option as a soul mate in the mind of the real Link.

Vaati grinned and took the ring back from Malon as she handed it to him "Thank you."

"No problem"

"I need to get going now. But I'll come back as soon as I can" Vaati promised /You'd better do that for her. Don't want to make her suspicious/

He turned and hurried away, feeling in high spirits now that he could once again manipulate Link's body without having his energy drained at an alarming rate. For good measures, he blocked out Link's conscious while for the next few minutes as he headed to where the castle had been, chucked the ring into the moat, then went to hurried out to a random point in the field so that Link wouldn't suspect where he'd hidden the goddess damned thing.

And out of a sign of courtesy, he gave Link control again.

"I will find a way to murder you"

/Have fun with that/


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"I can't believe you did that!"

/Really?/

"Er… well… I can… but really! That was my one advantage over you-and you just took advantage of a poor sweet girl and destroyed it!"

/The ring's in one piece/ Vaati said calmly, examining his translucent hand in disdain within his and Link's soul room. He wanted his body back.

"You know that's not what I meant!" Link's voice echoed through the room

/Then **say** what you mean/ Vaati replied /and stop yelling before I knock you out. You're going to give me a headache/

"WHAT?!" Vaati flinched and attempted to cover his ears as Link increased volume. Since he was somewhat insubstantial, this did nothing to muffle the sound.

/I can see the headlines now. Link found in ditch, beat to death by moblins. Autopsy reveals he carelessly fell asleep in the wrong place before being killed. I'd have to find a new host before leaving you there, of course. Someone a little less disobedient/

"…"

/Much better/

"Can you really do that?"

/Yes. I'd probably cast a paralysis spell on you before leaving your body, just to be safe/ Vaati said coolly. It was all a bluff though. He didn't know a paralysis spell. He could turn Link to stone, but that would trap him inside too.

"I have a charm that lessens magic put on my sword. That's how I could always fight you"

/Does nothing when 'you' cast the spells on yourself/ Vaati pointed out /Otherwise you'd be aware of what I'm doing the whole time I posses you/

Link took a deep breath. He was motivation. He had to rescue Zelda so she could rescue him. That sounded kind of mean, only rescuing her for his own sake, but you can only go through a mountain of work to save a dumb blond from danger so many times and gracefully accept getting nothing from it. "The soilders haven't found any leads on where Zelda is"

/Duh. Friendly reminder, I hear everything you do and then some. Not that you couldn't expect that of them. They never were much use. Anyway, I'd think the solution is obvious. When one group fails to meet your expectations, you seek out another/

"What about when you run out of groups?"

/That's when you're at my level/

XXXXX

Link's searching for a more solid lead had lead him to Death Mountains Gorons, who had taken his questioning as accusations and chucked him back down the mountain, literally. Deciding to question the Zora about it, Link headed toward Lake Hylia.

He was just about to cross the fence blocking it off when… /wait/

Link sighed "What now. I'm not-"

/Go to the desert/

"Why?"

/Just do it/ Vaati ordered.

Remembering the threat about leaving him in a ditch, Link changed course and headed for the desert "Fine. But we're taking a detour around the Gerudo Fortress."

/Why would we do that? That's where we're headed/

"Oh no it isn't" Link stopped dead on in his tracks and put his hands on his hips "You'll have to tie me up and drag me there kicking and screaming"

/Shall we give that a try?/

"I'd like to see that"

Unbenounced to the two of them, the mail man was watching in awe. Slightly disturbed by the sight of Link talking to himself, he ran off and never mentioned it to anyone. However, the image haunted him for the rest of his life.

/Well…/ Vaati thought about it /Using magic to tie you up and drag you would be kind of fun… but I should probably do something less energy consuming, shouldn't I?/ and then he was in control.

/Let me out you no good sonuva-/

"Fat chance" Vaati said to drown Link out before taking off running for the Gerudo Valley.

Once there he stopped for a second to marvel at Link's endurance. The last time he'd run a distance in Link's body he himself had been to worn out to notice it. Taking a deep breath and preparing for the worst, and not just because he was in Link's body and would be treated like the still furious hero, he stepped up to the fortress and yelled "Open up!"

Several Gerudo came running out

"What do you want, man?" one demanded

"I'd like an audience with Ganondorf" Vaati smirked. Inside him, Link had gone from yelling for control to screaming obscurities.

XXXXX

Ganondorf was slightly amused to see Link step walk in with his hands tied behind his back being led by several of his women "Can I help you with something?"

"I was wondering if you knew what was up with the castle disappearing"

The casual tone Link used took the Gerudo king by surprise, but he hid this and responded very coolly "And let me guess… you think I'm behind it?"

"Puh-lease" The hero scoffed "Everyone knows you couldn't cast a **real** spell like that if your life depended on it. Not without you mommies or some sort of catalyst at least. And clearly neither of those things are present"

Ganondorf frown. He thought his magic had always impressed Link (in a fearful sort of way), but he know someone had told him that before. Who was it again…? "Vaati?"

"Bingo" Vaati, in Link's body, smirked.

"You picked quite an interesting form to shape shift into. Did you think I'd be more likely to speak with you looking like that?"

Link listened intently as Vaati replied, in awe at the fact that the countries villains seemed to know each other well enough "Shape shifting? Nah. Link wrecked my body, so I'm kind of sharing with him. It's a real pain though. He won't let me do anything fun, and he's not doing anything interesting himself either. I mean, a whole castle disappeared and he's more concerned with fighting a couple Octorocks. Lame. I figured if he wouldn't solve this thing I'd give him a bit of a hand."

"So you're playing for his side now?"

"Just trying to keep myself entertained until I find a way to revive my old body" Vaati said "Mind having these people untie me?"

Ganondorf waved to his women and they released Vaati/Link. "So you've come to me hoping I might have some info on the castle's disappearance"

"Well you are…" Link felt a bit of resentment from Vaati as he forced the sentence out "You are kind of the head of the _Underworld_" Vaati muttered as he rubbed his now freed wrists.

/Underworld?/

/All criminal activity is considered to be part of the Underworld/ Vaati explained calmly while speaking to Ganondorf at literally the same time "If anyone's been informed about something, it would have been you"

"You must really want to kill some time if you're actually coming to me for help. I thought you hated interacting with others from the underworld. You're actually asking for help"

"Well, I've got shit for leads" Vaati said "And Zelda's the only person who knows where my corps is" Link realized he was right. Spreading Vaati's ashes had been his and Zelda's job, but they'd never gotten around to it, thanks to somebody.

/Can you revive ashes?/

/If not, I there are more creative ways/ something about the way Vaati said that sounded menacing.

"Things would be a little boring without you to argue with" Ganondorf said half-thoughtfully "I myself wasn't involved in it, but perhaps Veran-"

"Nuh-uh" Vaati interrupted "I didn't recognize the…" the words caught in his throat as the memory of what he'd felt returned. He was motionless for a second before managing to continue, sounding slightly more shaken "Who knows if that was even magic? Whatever-it wasn't Veran. That's for sure." Ganondorf raised an eyebrow at Vaati's sudden change from the casual tone he'd used up until then.

"Maybe not. Still, it's not impossible that she has a better idea about what's going on"

Vaati thought about it for a second. Link tried to 'see' Vaati's thoughts at the moment but only caught slight glimpses of things like 'Picori' or 'Dark' or, the only whole sentence he got 'I don't want to work with something that ugly'.

Finally, Vaati let out a very long, exasperated sigh "Fine. Where is she?"

"I believe she's spending the week in Lake Hylia"

"Great. Fine. That's where Link wanted to go anyway" Vaati said exasperatedly before relinquishing control to Link.

Examining the sudden change of posture and expression on the boy's face Ganondorf asked "Are you Link, or Vaati?"

"L-Link"

"Okay" Ganondorf snapped his fingers and the two women who had led Link/Vaati in grabbed the blond "Throw him out"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sitting in a room with Veran was tense, awkward and silent. For both of them. Finally, Link had had enough "Oi. Vaati. Get out here, you're the one who wanted to talk to her"

/I'll keep this nice boundary between us. Thank you very much. The last thing I want is three people in this body, and I'd bet you your life that Veran would be more than willing to and capable of giving that a try. If I'm in here I can stop her/

Link sighed "Fine. At least tell me what to say" So Vaati did that

"Vaati says he wanted to ask you about the castle" Link said monotonously "He believes that somebody else was involved. And wants me to quote him word for word so nothing is lost in context. Repeating what he said because certain blonds lack common sense, he believes that an unknown magic user was responsible for the disappearance of the castle. This person would have to be fairly new to the magic order, as he has not yet been recognized by Vaati or Ganondorf and…" Link paused "NO! I'm not saying 'me' changing that much of what you say won't make anything confusing! I'm refereeing to you as 'Vaati'. Got that? That's your name! Deal with it!"

Veran rolled her eyes "This would go faster if I tried to speak with him"

"He refuses to come out" Link apologized

"Than I'll go in" Veran turned into something horrible, slightly more hideous, and indescribable, and flew into Link's body. A second later, she was thrown out.

/Toldja so/

Given what Vaati had betted on Veran's actions, this was slightly unsettling.

"Fine" Veran said, rearranging her clothing in a slightly less appealing way than before "We'll do it his way"

"Lately I'm starting to believe there is no other way" Link muttered under his breath.

/Yeah, yeah. Cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it./ Vaati said, /Now, tell her that…/

"Vaati wants to know anything you might have found out about the person-or persons-responsible for the disappearance of the castle. And, also, Link you need… Oh..." Link blushed "Never mind that last bit"

Veran watched Link with mild amusement "I was watching the event play out. Whoever was behind it, she took her own sweet time layering the castle with spells to prepare it for the teleportation"

"Vaati questions why you've assumed it was a girl"

"Tell Vaati I take offense to his assumption that it was a boy"

"He can hear you just fine without me saying-No I will not call myself that"

Veran's amusement increased slightly "Well… this girl took her time layering the castle with spells to prepare it for teleportation. Her magic was familiar. At first I thought I was watching Vaati-not because he looks like a girl" Link heard the faint sound of Vaati growling in the back of his head "There was definitely something similar about her magic…"

/That's impossible-Don't repeat that to her. All of _them_ either left this world or died off when the sudden decrease in population made survival to difficult. No one else with magic like mine should be here/ he started mumbling to himself

"Vaati doubts that"

"Well, since Vaati has come to me and he must not have a good idea himself, and I'm _certain _of it. So I must be right"

"Vaati?" Link asked

/No… no… it is possible… just highly unlikely. Ask here if she could tell where the caster was/

"Do you know where this girl was casting the spells from?"

"The castle courtyard"

/WHAT!!!/ The sudden burst from Vaati caused Link to flinch and cover his ears, though it made no difference.

"By your gesture I take it that…"

"Ow… hold on… Vaati, what the heck was that for?"

/…/

"Vaati?"

/Tell her… 'thank you for your time. We have to leave'/

"Vaati thanks you for your time, but we have to leave now"

"Wait" Veran waved her hand and all the doors locked. "I shared information with you. If it's been beneficial to Vaati, I deserve to know"

After a moment of debate, Vaati took over and turned to Veran "It's nothing more than you figured out" He told her in a falsely sweet tone "Just as you said. There's something similar about me and this… girl. No. Not quite that. We could have everything in common"

And since he could, he blew up the door rather than waited for Veran to unlock it so he could stroll out

OXXXXXO

**Rune Caster**: I hope I made that obvious enough.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Link had been allowed control again once they were far enough away from Veran. Vaati did not speak at all for the next few days. Instead, he stayed in some secluded corner in the back of Link's mind-possibly the soul room-and brooded. Were it not for the negative emotions leaking out from the mage, Link would have completely forgotten his existence.

Finally, Link went to sleep one night out in the field and woke up in the crater where the castle had once been /I had you're friend evacuate the town/ Vaati explained before Link could ask /I need to check something. Now tell me, where was the entrance to the castle?/

Link went to the general area where the entrance had been. Using levitation magic, Vaati allowed Link to wander around until he reached the spot where he was pretty sure the court yard had once been at. Then Vaati resumed control.

/Vaati, what are you doing?/ Link asked when Vaati started moving around when Link had designated as the courtyard.

"Looking"

/For air? That's all that's up here/

"No for-" Vaati stopped. His/Link's hand wrapped around some invisible object "Found it."

/What? What is it?/

"Silence. I'm about to use a lot of energy-don't distract me." It became too bright for anyone to see for a few seconds. Then the light faded and Vaati fell to the ground.

/A-are you okay?/

"…no." Vaati said "I'm worried"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

/Really it's not TOO bad/ Vaati said /It's an enemy I'm uncomfortable with you fighting, but it's one that'll be easy to locate/

"Do you have any sentimental attachment to this person?" Link asked.

/No/ Vaati snapped /It just unsettles me to be near someone else who uses… who uses **my** magic/

"Your-"

/Silence. I'm trying to locate them/ Link felt an odd vibrating feeling in the back of his head. As he reached back to see what might be there a wave of energy shot out in all directions before returning a second later /Got it/ Vaati appeared outside Link's body and pointed toward an unnamed mountain off in the distance /They're that way/

Link nodded and ran enthusiastically in the direction Vaati had pointed at.

XXXXX

Link groaned and pulled himself up over the bit of cliff he'd slipped on earlier. He looked around and said "For such a steep mountain, it has a fairly flat top"

/If it weren't so inaccessible you could start a town up here/ Vaati observed /It's got everything you'd need. Plants… Water…/ He pointed at a few fruit trees and a small waterfall /This would make a good place to put my next tower once I find a more practical body/

"I'll keep that in mind" Link said

/Doesn't matter. I'll still eliminate you once my life isn't dependent on yours/ Vaati reminded him /Now that girl has to be somewhere/ He looked around. Link looked at him. His hair looked really soft. It was a shame he was just a spirit – if Vaati had his own body he could have teased him about being a villain with such soft hair.

Of course, soft hair was actually better than being a giant flying eyeball. "Hey, Vaati, the way you look now" Link said "Is that how you're supposed to look?" Vaati stared at him blankly for a long while, then shook his head "So that big bat thing was your normal form, and you just took that one while you were dying to mess with me?" Vaati shook his head again "Then what?"

/…/

"Vaati?"

/This is my 'Hylian' form. It's how I appear when trying to look like one of your kind/ Vaati said.

"Hylian? You're not-"

/Up there/ Vaati pointed to another ledge-this one to steep to climb /I can sense the person we're looking for up there/

Link felt wind gathering around him, then was thrown up the ledge "Ow… you could have warned me beforehand…" He grumbled.

Vaati just scoffed and pointed to a temple like structure /What's that for?/

"You don't know?"

/No. It certainly wasn't there a few millennia ago the last time I was free from that stupid seal/ Vaati said /I can tell. There's magic radiating from it. Not just 'that person's magic, but something different. Something… disgustingly pure. On second thought, I have no desire to set up a base here/

"Good. That'll make your next hiding spot easier for me to reach" Link said "So the guy who took the castle is in there?"

/………yeah. Link?/

"What?"

/I used a lot of magic finding the portal where the castle used to be. I barely had enough to lift you up here. I think it'd be best if we waited until I'd recovered. This person… this person is like me. This person in _Minish_. They have the same magic I do. Without that dumb sword you might have trouble with them. My magic could help/

"You want to help?"

/No. I want to eradicate any &$*#^% Minish who set foot here. I'm so sick of those little joy sacks with their need to make everyone else soooo happy. Besides, if this person is causing trouble, that means they're trying to take my spot as a Minish who's actually EVIL. I'm NOT allowing this person to replace me/

"Minish?" Link asked "So you're not Hylian, you're some race I haven't heard of?"

/Some race I killed a lot of time trying to eradicate/ Vaati responded /The first 'you' I fought was well aware of all of this/

Link sighed. Vaati seemed more interested in complaining than actually giving answers "Fine. I'll wait for your magic to come back, but the second it does we're charging in"

/Fair enough/


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It was several long boring days before Vaati felt he had enough magic to face whatever was down there (proving that the top of the mountain was capable of sustaining life). Link eagerly charged into the temple. He found, very fast, that the place was the least threatening area he'd ever been in. The temple was full of puzzles, sure, but there were absolutely no monsters.

/This place wasn't meant to be a menacing dungeon/ Vaati observed halfway through the trip /But it has the potential. A few powerful monsters here and there. Maybe some sort of horrible curse. Get rid of whatever this place is supposed to be for… I could totally see this place turning into a horrible-/

"Zip it" Link ordered.

Vaati chuckled in response.

After descending down many flights of stairs Link finally came to a large room with a sort of pool and high pillars in it. Standing in the center was a little girl. Link immediately thought she looked like Vaati. Her hair was actually much shorter, and golden instead of lavender. Her face was a little wider. Her eyes were a different shape. There was no real resemblance, but he still thought she looked like her.

/Don't show-/

"Hey!" Link called out to her. The girl looked up at him "Were you the one who took the castle?"

"You can have it back…" the girl said "I'm bored with it. That girl won't divulge her power to me. There's nothing else worthwhile in there." She whispered a few words in another language and smiled at Link.

/What was that?/ Link asked mentally

/Teleportation spell./ Vaati laughed /Hey, wonder if any of those guards were in the ditch when she sent the castle back? We won't be seeing them again!/

Link tried to ignore the image this put into his head "If you don't want the castle, why did you take it?"

"I wanted her power…" The girl frown at him "You were the boy that ran out of the castle against your will. What were you doing there?"

"Zelda and I are good friends." Link said "And I'm one of the palace guards"

"Well you did a _wonderful_ job of that" the girl said "Now hand him over"

"What?"

"Vaati. The demon boy. I want him"

/That's something I never thought I'd hear…/ Vaati said

"What do you mean you want him?" Link asked

"He's the little boy that stole that hat, right? The most powerful Minish sorcerer. He'd know all sorts of tricks I don't-with my properly learned magic-that could help me reach my goals. He has no body. I can get rid of him easily later"

/No she can't/

"No you can't" Link echoed Vaati "There's no spell to force a spirit out of someone's body"

"Yes there is" the girl replied "There's a spell for _everything_. You just have to be a little creative when you're coming up with it. Watch" She whispered something else in her weird language.

Link felt like he was being torn in two as she finished her incantation. Something started to peel away from him. A very pale light started to leave him, then purple mixed in with it, and traces of red. Once it all left the light took the translucent form of Vaati. The mage looked around puzzled then mouthed something out, but no sound was heard. Alarmed, Link made a swipe at him, and felt himself reabsorb the mage.

"Smart. A spirit can only survive for seconds outside of a body." The girl said.

"Who are you?" Link demanded. It seemed to him that Vaati ought to know this girl.

"My name is… Bellum." Bellum said "Bellum. Second apprentice to Ezlo"

/^&U %$$ #$*& !# !#/ Vaati let lose a long string a swears /That old bat's still alive?!!!/

/You know him/

/Link, kill that girl/

"Why do you need Vaati?"

"If I have his magic I could suck out people's life force. He knows how, I know that. I know a few spells, and I'm good at making them up, but I actually don't have much magic, or know anything major" it was hard for Link to believe she didn't have much magic when she could teleport a whole castle and Vaati could hardly levitate for a little while

/It takes a lot of my energy just to let my magic work through someone with no real magic ability/ Vaati told him /If I were in another mage I'd be able to do a lot more/

"Well you won't have him!" Link snapped

Bellum grinned "Alright" she made a swiping motion and shouted a few more incantations. A large, dark whale sprung forth from the pool. "Oshus, DESTROY HIM!"


	14. Chapter 14

Link jumped out of the way as the whale leapt over the platform they were on. His mind went into a panic for a moment.

/CALM DOWN!!!/ Vaati screeched at him.

"I'm about to be killed by a big black whale!" Link snapped back at the voice in his head "How can it even fit in this room?"

Vaati whispered something in the back of his mind. The whale turned white. /Better?/

"Not much, but that does help" Link had to admit, turning and taking his sword out.

/wait…/ The whale sprang up towards Link again /Crap! Run! RUN!/

"Why-"

Vaati took over for a second and dove out of the way. Tiles cracked beneath the giant whale as it landed where the two had been a second ago. "You're welcome" Vaati muttered under his breath before giving Link control and appearing as a spirit by his side /I'll keep an eye on this girl. You do something about tubby-and if he crushes you and kills us both I'll make you miserable you're whole afterlife!/

"Geeze…" Link sighed and began analyzing the whale, looking for a weak point. The only thing he could think of was to go for the eyes, which were too high up. Nothing else looked like a sensitive spot.

/I could lift you up/ Vaati offered.

/Save your energy for the mage girl/ Link told him "focus on her."

/…/ Vaati gave something sounding like a "hmph" and Link couldn't feel his presence anymore.

For much longer than he wanted to Link found himself jumping out of the way of the whale's attacks. The girl, Bellum, just sat and watched. Link was beginning to feel his energy depleting when Vaati finally spoke again.

/I found it/

"The girl's weakness?"

/The weak link. Link, could you jump onto one of the fins. If I lift you at the right moment while you're on one of them, it shouldn't take much energy. I can stop the whale from the top/ Which, in real life, would sound perfectly implausible on several levels. However, this is a video game, or maybe it's a fanfic. The point is, this stuff happens in boss fights in Zelda games.

"Alright!" Link crouched down, preparing to spring. The chance arrived the next time the whale lunged for him. Almost the second he touched down on the whale's fin he was flung up onto it's back.

/Get up by its face/ Vaati order. Link obeyed.

He felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head, then magic exploded out of him. The whale gave a loud, whale-like cry, trembled, then went still.

/…g…et… off…/ Vaati mutterd

"Are you okay?"

/…………sleepy…/

"Vaati! Hey!" Recalling that Vaati preferred one hundred percent internal conversations, he stopped voicing his words /Vaati, stay with me. I'm already worn out from dodging the whale. I need your help beating this thing!/

/s…o…rry…/

/Here/ This voice was new. Powerful. Gentle. A Deus Ex Machina. Link looked around for a source, but found only the witch and the whale /Remain calm. Bellum has not yet realized that the sorcerer inside you broke the spell controlling me./

Link stiffened a little and pointed his sword at Bellum, trying to hide that he was listening to the whale "I doubt you have the strength left to fight us." Bellum taunted.

/Attack./ the whale whispered into his mind. /Both of you, go on the offensive./

/Bu…t…….. I/ Link couldn't recall Vaati sounding this beat before. It was impressive the spirit was still capable of speaking (or, speaking in a sense)

/Attack/ The whale cried.

Link sprang forward, prepared to strike even though he doubted he could hit very hard. For a moment the action felt slowed down. Weaker. With too little energy. Then he felt something surge through him. His strength had returned. He dug his sword into Bellum's arm. She shrieked and turned into a misty, insubstantial substance and drifted further away before hurling spells madly at the blond. Link tried to shoot an arrow, but it passed through her.

/Got any better arrows than that?/ It was Vaati again.

/You're back!/ Link was too busy dodging a lightning bolt to consider why.

/That whale was an infinitely bigger help than I thought it would be/ The implication of this was lost on Link, who'd crammed his head with things like sword thrusts instead of info like for A to be infinity larger than B B must be nothing/none.

"Don't distract me or we'll die"

/If you have a better arrow fire it **now**/Vaati ordered

"It won't hit!"

/Do it!/

"NO!"

/NOW!/ Vaati screamed

To shut him up, Link grabbed the second Deus Ex Machina of the day. A lone light arrow that had been given to him by Zelda incase he needed it in his fight with Vaati. With a little reluctance, Link fired it at the mist-girl

(SC: That makes me think of Mist Gun… hehe. If you're wondering, I took so long writing this last chap cuzz I was too busy obsessing over my favorite manga: Fairy Tail)

The tingling from on top of the whale returned. Bellum suddenly became material. The arrow went straight into her gut.

"Ouch" Link muttered. Vaati whistled in agreement.

Bellum touched back down on the ground and clutched the wound with one hand while shooting more magic out of her other.

/Does she really not have a lot of magic?/ Vaati asked.

"So she says"

/Seems like an informed disability/

"How many more spells can you cast?"

/Before going catatonic? One or two major ones. I could cancel five or six more of hers./

"Got any ideas?"

/Stop her?/ Vaati offered

"I meant ideas I can use!"

/Stop her/ Vaati repeated /Give her what she wants/

Link froze when he heard this. A fireball hit him, knocking him into a nearby pool. /No! Vaati!/ He protested pathetically as he scrambled to the surface for air.

/And take a few things/ Vaati added /I…/ he paused /I'm already dead. It doesn't matter. I'll leave some of my magic energy with you. It won't make a difference. You still can't cast spells. Maybe items that use magic will work better. Who knows. I'll seal her… us up. I can seal her intelligence too. I'd… have to lock up mine as well though…/

"You sound like…" Link paused, remembering Bellum's presence when a spell whizzed by his ear /like you're going to… become _one_ or something/

/Don't say that. It sounds gross./ Vaati hesitated /But… yeah./

"Don't!"

/You won't miss me/ Vaati scoffed /By the way, I chucked that ring into a river somewhere. You should give it back to your girlfriend./

"Vaati, Sto-"

Vaati was in control. Link couldn't feel the tingling as the sorcerer cast slew of spells. I like the word 'slew', by the way. Link felt Vaati leaving his body again. The sorcerer must have picked up the spell real fast after seeing Bellum use it. For a second Vaati was in spirit form, then he entered Bellum so fast it was almost as if someone had taped him to a rocket.

Bellum started to laugh, then paused, then made a sound similar to retching.

/Do me one last favor/ Link heard Vaati say /Scream something along the lines of 'freak'. From what of her personality I can sense that should break her/

The Bellum's body began to twist and warp. It grew larger and darker until it resembled something similar to an octopus with eyes on each tentacle.

Vaati's last words to Link were /I find this creepy stuff to be good for making people avoid you/

Then Bellum/Vaati vanished into the floor.

/Your friend was brave/ The whale mused

"…"

/I am Oshus. I would thank both of you, but he's no longer here to give thanks to./

"Don't mention it" Link muttered.

/Don't act modest. I must thank you/

"No. I mean don't mention it." Link said "Don't mention Vaati at all. Don't ever tell a soul that he's part of that _thing_. If… If anyone asks that's just Bellum."

/Sparing him?/

Link nodded mutely then headed out of the room. He had to go check up on Zelda. He couldn't lament the loss of the voice in his head that wanted to take over the world. Vaati had technically been dead for weeks anyway. Vaati had already been dead. That was it.

"He died weeks ago." Link muttered "But he died for a hell of a lot better reason than anyone thinks…"


End file.
